MailChimp Subscribe: capture new subscribers

Capture new subscribers in the Messenger and sync with any MailChimp mailing list.

Written by Ruairí Galavan Updated over a week ago

With the MailChimp Subscribe app, you can capture new email subscribers in the Messenger home and sync them with your MailChimp mailing lists.

If your visitors or users aren’t ready to create an account or make a purchase, they can leave their email address. And you can offer rewards like valuable content, discount codes or just follow up with a simple thank you message.

Note: To use the MailChimp subscribe app you’ll need a MailChimp account and any paid Intercom plan.

Install the MailChimp Subscribe app

You can install the MailChimp Subscribe app from the ‘Add Messenger App Home’ section of your Messenger settings or from the app store. Here we’re going to install it from the app store (but both methods work the same).

First, head to the app store and search for the MailChimp Subscribe app, then select it.

Next, click ‘Install now.’

Then, click ‘Connect.’ If you haven’t logged into your MailChimp account you’ll be prompted to do so.

You’ll also need to ‘Allow access’ to accept permissions.

Choose which content to display

Now, you’ll need to fill out the content that will appear in the Messenger card for your visitors or users.

Then, add a clear, enticing title to attract users to subscribe via the Messenger.

Pro tip: This is your call to action - it should incentivize people to give you their email address. We recommend telling people what they’ll gain by subscribing - for example, that could be weekly tips.

Next, add a description. This gives you a little more room to explain your call to action. For example, you can tell your customers that they should subscribe to your newsletter in exchange for tips, a discount code or a piece of content you’re offering.

Then, add a friendly confirmation message. It’s a good idea to let your customers know you’re grateful they signed up.

Next, we recommend adding a reward for customers to receive after leaving their email address. You can offer:

A discount code

A link to a piece of content they can download (like an ebook, a whitepaper or a cheatsheet)

Add the app to your Messenger home

Note: If you want to show the app to both your visitors and users you’ll need to add it to 'For users' and 'For visitors'.

Once you save and set the app live, it will appear in your Messenger home.

Once your customers open the Messenger on your product/site they’ll be able to easily subscribe to your MailChimp list.

As soon as they enter their email address, they’ll receive their reward if you've created one, and confirmation that they’ve subscribed.

Share the app in conversations

If a visitor or user asks to subscribe to your newsletter, you can share the app from the inbox. Click the ‘App store’ icon, then select the ‘MailChimp Subscribe’ app.

Once shared, your users will be able to subscribe directly in the conversation:

Best practices for capturing more quality subscribers:

Test and optimize your subscription form

Test out a few different ways to engage your customers and capture their email addresses. For example, try out different types of rewards, titles and description text. You’ll soon find the approach that works best for your customers.

Create different types of engaging content to share

Here are some tips for creating content your customers will want to read and sign up for:

Send your customers a message asking what they’d like to read. It’s the fastest and most efficient way to gauge appetite for a particular topic or medium.

Analyze your Google Analytics data to see the types of content your customers are reading and sharing most. Once you spot the most popular topics you can create more content around this 🙌